My Husband and I have just returned from a 10 night stay at the Riu Palace and we have had the most amazing holiday. We are well travelled and have been to Mexico before and I have to say that this Hotel has it all. From checking in to very sadly checking out the service was superb.The food in all the restaurants was so varied and well presented, and you must try all the speciality restaurants esp the Gourmet. The beach is beautiful, the pool in the centre of the resort which has the statues is like a secret! noone used it hardly so we claimed it as our own most days!
The drink is great! branded vodka,whiskey etc and even the wine is fab.You can also use the riu next door and the Caribe about 30min walk away. We would get up early and walk to the Riu Caribe, have a fresh orange juice and walk back just to feel like we were walking off some of those many calories!
We had a room on the second floor classed as a jnr suite which overlooked the beach
If there are any down sides, which I struggle to think of many, the other pool gets crowded and is often hard to get a bed but theres planty of space on the beach ..You will love this place!

We have just got back from the riu palace.The holiday had a bad start as we had booked to go to Kenya an with all the trouble there we did not went to go.We telephoned first choice who we booked with and told them .They replyed that we can not cancel unless we want to loose our money the only way is for first choice to cancel but they will not cancel until 48 hours before we are due to fly .As we live in france we had booked two conecting flights to london to fly to cancun.48 hours before we were to fly they canceled.we then had to find another holiday at short notice as we had already flown to devon .First choice had nothing but thompsons did but not until 4 days latter so we booked.
We arrived at the airport at 7.30 am to fly at 10.30 am only to be told there was a delay and come back at 10.30 am.When we returned we were told there was a problem mith the aeroplane and to return at 1.30 pm and no more info about what was happening.On return we were told we will not going until the next day and they will put us up in a hotel and give us a meal which was awful.We flew the next day.On the return flight we had no seat back tv they had no beer ,lemonaide or coke .We will never kly with Thompsons again

The hotel was fab full luxury nothing too much trouble for the staff. The room was always clean and tidy .The food to die for .The bars freindly and quick.The beach had plenty of room and no problem for a sun bed nomatter what time of day .The sea is blue blue and clear. I can not fault this hotel .My only gripe is a few loud americans although we did meet many good & fun ones
If you visit cancun you must go to coaco bongo for a great night out.

When you read reviews that tell you that this resort is like a cruise ship on land, this couldn't be more true! Right down to the regimented dining and "entertainment" and little plastic bracelets .We stayed 5 nights at the Riu Las Americas in November, the week of thanksgiving. First, the weather was not great, rain or atleast heavy clouds 3 of the 5 days and very heavy wind that made it chilly to be in the pool even when the sun was out. At check in we had no problem getting a king size bad and matress pad (everything you hear about rock hard matresses TRUE), we did have to wait about an hour for our room to be ready and tipped the guy heavily. There is a musty smell, but nothing to write home about..Our second night there, some drunk guy vommited on the floor in the middle of the bar /lounge, the staff cleaned it up promptly but didn't seem at all surprised almost like it happens all the time and the smell lingered for hours.
We made all of our dinner reservations the first hour there and had no problem getting one for every night, beware, if you are 10 minutes late for your reservation they simply give it away, there is usually a line of guests outside the restaurants without reservations waiting for someone to not show up. These restaurants are exactly what you would expect for an all inclusive, salty, bland,and it truly does all start to taste exactly the same. The buffets are better than the sit down restaurants. The "gourmet" restaurant for example, the server we had from the night before at the brazilian carrying a big skewer of meat, is wearing a vest and white gloves, but the food is of the same so so quality.It's almost like a parody of a fancy restaurant, they were "out of" the fillet mignon so they served me a fatty rib eye with a piece of american cheese melted on top of it, you get the picture..The wine, all of it, is crap.
3 out of the five days when we arrived back at our room after a long day by the pool our room wasn't cleaned, not a big deal but a little irritating.The TV in the Junior Suite is in the seating area so if you want to watch from the bed you will have to angle it toward you from across the room.We didn't use the safe after reading other reviews regarding theft.
The crowd at this hotel was mostly families and couples, ALOT of children and when I say alot, I do mean alot. In the quiet pool and the activity / bar pool, loud kids everywhere you look, including in the jacuzzi!! On the colder days there were parents who actually dropped their kids off at the jacuzzi and left them there to play!!!! Infuriating! No real quiet relaxation at this resort. Getting lounges outside is difficult, and the same people go down everyday at dawn to reserve chairs with towels and books etc.. then leave them half the day to go eat or do other things.Drinks are abundant and poured however you like, thats about the only consistantly positive thing about this place.
Had a decent massage in the spa, although the hot tub and cold plunge in the spa ARE NOT for the exclusive use of those paying for spa services, any hotel guest can come in anytime to use this facility, again, no peace and quiet to be found.
Overall this place is one of the nicer hotels in cancun, which you can tell immediately when you pull up, but it is truly just a facade, it is crowded and loud like a small city of people all competing for the same space and services. If you're a family with kids looking for a moderately priced, nice looking all inclusive, this is your spot. If you're a couple looking for luxurious relaxation and good food, this is most definitely not you place.I go to cabo san lucas every year and thought cancun would be even nicer because of the crystal blue water and tropical climate, I learned that yes the water is beautiful but not worth the trip when you have to stay at an enourmous, cruise ship like hotel with what seems like every other human on the planet.For my $$ cabo is adult oriented,luxurious and has some class which this place doesn't. If you were impressed by this place... well..to each his own..

We recently got back from a 5 night stay at the Riu Palace Las Americas. We booked it online because the price was right and the reviews seemed more on the positive side. When we arrived at the hotel, we walked to the checkin counter and a woman there escorted us to the bar to check us in. That was weird. I had booked my trip through Orbitz and saw that we booked either 2 double beds or a king bed so I requested of her right away that we get a king bed. She said ok. She ordered us drinks and then went to get our keys, etc. She came back, and I double checked with her that it was a king bed. She said yes, although I am not sure she fully understood me because it didn't seem like she spoke English that well. So we went to the room and sure enough it was 2 double beds. I called the front desk and told them I wanted a king bed, and they told me I had to come back down. When I got down there, the man at the front desk tried to tell me that I had booked 2 double beds. I said I didn't and that I requested a king bed when I came in. He argued with me some more, and then relented and switched our room to one with a king bed. I don't know why that was such a big deal for them because the hotel didn't seem that crowded the days we were there. The new room was fine, although it had somewhat of a musty smell. I am not sure the hotel can control that though because it was very humid there and nothing, ie our bathing suits, ever dried completely. There is only a small portion of the beach where in front of the hotel where you can get sunlight all day long. The same is true of the pools. So seats in these areas go fast so you better get out there early. Also, if you are on the beach there are people that walk up and down all day trying to sell you things so you have to be firm that you are not interested or they will not leave you alone. On the positive side, most of the hotel staff is very friendly. The bartenders are heavy handed which is good if you like to drink! The wine they serve is not that good so you are better off with beer or mixed drinks. The breakfast buffet was the best one, in our opinion. We tried each of the specialty restaurants and liked the Japanese one the best, although I got sick the next day, but that could have been from lunch we ate at La Isla Mujeres. The hotel is in a good location so it is easy to get to different places. The room we stayed in had a beautiful view of the ocean.